14 DAY TRIAL // Epic and Unreal Tournament 3 will keep the headlines for a long time now and it's becoming increasingly difficult to limit ourselves to just one story a day about them. The recent partnership of Epic with Gamespy is such an example as Epic is creating the finishing touches for their hard-core multiplayer game.
The best thing about this partnership is the possibility of cross-platform gaming and they explain it best: "By incorporating GameSpy's online technology into Unreal Engine 3, the two companies have created an integrated one-stop solution for game developers looking to leverage the world's most advanced multi-player technology and game engine in one package. The partnership will span both the PC and PLAYSTATION 3 platforms within Unreal Engine 3, enabling seamless PLAYSTATION 3 and PC online functionality. Functionality available to Unreal Engine 3 licensees via Gamespy will include cross-platform gameplay, communication tools and competition applications."
Jamie Berger, senior vice president of consumer products and technology for IGN Entertainment has also declared that "Epic and the Unreal Engine 3 are on the leading edge of next-generation and multi-platform gaming, and we are very pleased to join the Integrated Partners Program. GameSpy is committed to working together with Epic to address a broad range of needs for the connected gamer, including multiplayer matchmaking, in-game and out-of-game messaging, persistent player communities, and competition systems".
We might have expected much and I hope the Gamespy can deliver the goods for this revolutionary shooter. We wouldn't want anything to go wrong with our beloved title as we hope that it will keep us entertained. As Jamie Berger has said, we are about to see the production time coming to a close: "Over the past months we have fully integrated a broad suite of GameSpy online technology in Unreal Engine 3 and have built a fantastic working relationship with Epic. We look forward to extending that relationship with a number of new technologies customized for Unreal Engine 3 to be introduced over the next 12 months."